1. Field
The present invention generally relates to a bare glass fiber holder, and more particularly, to a large diameter bare glass holder which holds optical fibers having a cladding diameter of about 230 μm or greater.
2. Description of the Related Art
High precision large diameter fibers (LDFs) cleavers have been developed which are designed for cleaving LDFs. An LDF, which typically has a cladding diameter from 230 μm up to 1000 μm or more in diameter produces cleaved angles within 0.5 degrees.
A built-in microprocessor of the cleaver controls all parameters and settings, such as clamping, tension and the exact position and speed of a diamond blade used for cutting or cleaving. This control of sensitive parameters is used to achieve a high cleaving repeatability and accuracy.
The fiber is held in place by a large diameter fiber holder which is used to load the fiber into the cleaver, and is critical to the accuracy of the cleaving. The LDF holder is selected to match the diameter of the fiber coating or jacket. A v-groove clamp block and a fiber height adjuster has to be selected to match the diameter of the fiber cladding.
The LDF holder as well as the v-groove clamp block, a height adjuster and a distance plate work together as a fiber handling system to ensure optimum cleaving performance for a particular fiber with a specific diameter, and these parts maybe exchanged by the operator to set the cleaver up for other fiber dimensions.
The cleaver is further designed to generate a minimum amount of fiber waste, typically less than 20 mm. An automatic waste disposal system removes any hazardous fiber scraps. The cleaver can be connected to an external computer that gives access to all programmable parameters and settings.
After a fiber is cleaved to the correct length, the cleaved fiber can be directly transferred to a splicer with no risk of touching or damaging the fiber end.
As noted above, the LDF holder is selected to match the diameter of the fiber coating or jacket. Accordingly, the coated or jacketed fiber is held in place by the LDF holder which is used to load the fiber in the cleaver. Enough clamping force must be used by the LDF holder to securely hold onto the coated or jacketed fiber such that an accurate cleave can be performed. However, when the fiber is not coated or jacketed (i.e., when the fiber is a bare glass fiber), it is difficult to clamp and hold the bare glass fiber in the fiber holder without breaking the fiber. Accordingly, because of the clamping force needed to securely hold onto the fiber, a bare glass fiber often breaks due to the applied pressure.
Furthermore, each time a different sized fiber is used, a different fiber holder must be selected, which is inconvenient.
Accordingly, an LDF holder that can firmly hold onto a bare glass fiber without breaking the fiber is needed. Furthermore, an LDF holder which can adapt to handle different sized fibers is needed.